Ask
Green Your Lab

Environment


"What’s the worry with permafrost?"

Nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere, an area twice the size of the United States is covered in permafrost - soil that is frozen for at least 2 years straight. But, contrary to its name, Permafrost is not as permanent as one would believe. The Earth is warming at an alarming speed with the Arctic warming at twice as fast. Across these barely inhabited regions, where winter temperatures can dip below -50°C, the ground is starting to give way. Rapid erosion and collapsing sinkholes are causing irreparable damage for housing, roads, pipelines, but the real worry is below the surface. When permafrost thaws, rich deposits of organic material, from animal carcasses and old plants, are uncovered and become food for microbes that produce carbon dioxide and, from pooling water in thermokarst lakes, methane. These releases of greenhouses gasses in turn warm the earth and produce a continuous feedback loop that accelerates climate change. Unlike other sources of greenhouse gases, the difficulty with melting permafrost is that we cannot directly control it.

Northern permafrost contains 1600 billion tons of carbon - twice as much carbon than is currently found in the atmosphere or three times as much as what is locked in the world forests. Due to a lack of understanding of permafrost thawing profiles, estimates vary widely on its environmental impact. If we’re good, permafrost can actually help us sequester carbon. If we’re not, then it’ a ticking time bomb. Some scientists predict thawing of 5-15% of the permafrost in the next two decades, which would result in a 0.27°C rise. If we want to limit the global temperature rise to less than 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels, emissions from permafrost alone can use up a quarter of our carbon budget.     

It’s important to include secondary climate change effects into carbon calculations. 1kg of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere can result in an out-sized and unpredictable effect.   

Green-New-Deal


"What is the US Green New Deal?"

There has been a lot of media attention on the US’s Green New Deal. However, nearly all reports have been engrossed with the politics of the resolution and not much on its contents. So what is really in it?  

The Green New Deal is not a bill, nor legislation, nor policy. It is more of a proposal that can’t be used to make any laws. Basically, it acknowledges that we are in a climate crisis and gives some idea of what it might take to solve it. The document contains two parts. 

The first section discusses what we know about impending climate crisis and what we need to do to avoid the impending consequences. Essentially, it says that it is too late to incrementally move away from fossil fuels. Instead, we need to make a drastic step change in eliminating the burning of fossil fuels. This includes changing the way we build buildings, generate electricity, source food and make steel. This is a huge undertaking, but the process will create new economies, new jobs and new money. 

Of course, there is a flip side. Decarbonizing will cause economic pain for traditional industries. So, the second section of the Green New Deal suggests ways to protect Americans during the sudden change. This includes suggestions such as re-education and training, public welfare, universal income and quality healthcare. It says that the American economy should be rebuilt in a way that allows opportunity to flow more fairly thought the population. 

The Green New Deal does not make any assurances or commitments. It also does not detail how ideas are to be implemented. It is just provides a first step on the path to a decarbonized country. This contentious resolution will be voted on at the 116th United States Congress on March 26th.  

Published Feb 25, 2019

Carbon-capture-pilot-site

Fanny Yuen with the Naked Scientists asks Dr. Juerg Matter from Coumbia University:
"How can we capture and store Carbon Dioxide?"

Carbon dioxide is a problematic greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Power plants are major emitters of carbon dioxide, but unfortunately, current methods of capturing and storing excess carbon dioxide have not been very effective. Only a small amount of carbon dioxide actually gets stored permanently. But researchers at Columbia University have demonstrated that their unique carbon capture and storage process can actually convert carbon dioxide into environmentally friendly limestone in less than two years. GYL's Fanny Yuen joined BBC's Naked Scientists to speak with Dr. Juerg Matter to hear more about his pilot study.

Credit: Juerg Matter

Fish-eat-micropastics

Fanny Yuen with the Naked Scientists asks Dr. Oona Lönnstedt from Uppsala University:
"How do Plastic Microparticles affect Fish?"

The US and Europe are benning microparticle beads from personal care products. Researchers from Uppsala University are able to show that fish actually prefer to eat microplastic particles rather than their own food of zooplankton, causing disastrous effects to their survival. GYL's Fanny Yuen joined BBC's Naked Scientists to speak with Dr. Oona Lönnstedt to better understand the issue.

Credit: Oona Lönnstedt

X X from X asks:
"Missing Our Old Content?"

We're sure you've noticed the big changes to our website. We are currently updating. Apologies for the inconvenience. We are in the process of re-uploading our content. 

Note: Questions and response may be slightly edited to fit website reading. Original text is kept where possible